Reproductive Markers of Testicular Function and Size During Puberty in Boys With and Without a History of Cryptorchidism

• Published in: The journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2022-12, Vol.107 (12), p.3353-3361
• Main Authors: Rodprasert, Wiwat, Koskenniemi, Jaakko J, Virtanen, Helena E, Sadov, Sergey, Perheentupa, Antti, Ollila, Helena, Albrethsen, Jakob, Andersson, Anna-Maria, Juul, Anders, Skakkebaek, Niels E, Main, Katharina M, Toppari, Jorma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical; Cryptorchism; Follicle-stimulating hormone; Genetic disorders; Inhibin; Luteinizing hormone; Protein binding; Somatotropin; Testosterone
• ISSN: 0021-972X; 1945-7197
• DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgac520

Context: Longitudinal data on levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormones and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) during puberty in boys with a history of cryptorchidism are largely missing. Objective: We aimed to compare pubertal hormone levels between boys with a history of congenital cryptorchidism who experienced spontaneous testicular descent or underwent orchiopexy and boys without a history of cryptorchidism. Methods: This was a nested case-control study within a population-based birth cohort, with a prospective, longitudinal pubertal follow-up every 6 months (2005 to 2019). Participants were 109 Finnish boys, including boys with a history of unilateral cryptorchidism who underwent orchiopexy (n = 15), unilateral cryptorchidism who had spontaneous testicular descent (n = 15), bilateral cryptorchidism who underwent orchiopexy (n = 9), bilateral cryptorchidism who had spontaneous testicular descent (n = 7), and controls (n = 63). Serum reproductive hormone levels and testicular volumes were measured. Results: From around onset of puberty, boys with bilateral cryptorchidism who underwent orchiopexy had significantly higher follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and lower inhibin B levels than controls. Boys with unilateral cryptorchidism who underwent orchiopexy had significantly higher FSH than controls, whereas inhibin B levels were similar. Testosterone, luteinizing hormone, insulin-like factor 3, and IGF-I were generally similar between groups. Testicular volume of boys with unilateral or bilateral cryptorchidism who underwent orchiopexy was smaller than that of the controls from 1 year after pubertal onset (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Cryptorchid boys, particularly those with bilateral cryptorchidism who underwent orchiopexy, had altered levels of serum biomarkers of Sertoli cells and germ cells and smaller testicular volumes compared with controls. Key Words: undescended testis, testosterone, gonadotropins, Leydig cell, Sertoli cell, orchiopexy Abbreviations: BC, bilateral cryptorchidism; FSH, follicle-stimulating hormone; GH, growth hormone; HPG, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal; IGF-I, insulin-like growth factor I; IGFBP-3, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3; INSL3, insulin-like factor 3; LH, luteinizing hormone; OpBC, operated bilateral cryptorchidism; OpUC, operated unilateral cryptorchidism; SHBG, sex hormone--binding globulin; SpBC, spontaneously descended bilateral cryptorchidism; SpUC, spontaneously descended unilateral cryptor